Shipping-display container



Oct. 24, 1939.

E. l. FLEMING SHIPPING-DISPLAY CONTAINER Filed Sept. 8, 1937 2Sheets-Sheet l muy,

Oct. 24, 1939. E, V| FLEMlNG 2,177,034

SHIPPING -DISPLAY CONTAINER Filed Sept. 8, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lemig,

imei/nud Patented Oct. 24, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFlCE SHIPPING-DISPLAY CONTAINER Edgar I. Fleming, Welisburg, W. Va., assigner to EagleManufacturing Company, Wellsburg, W. Va., a corporation of WestVirginia,

Application September 8, 1937, Serial No, 162,950

-.1 for display disposition through a simple and prac-- ticallyinstantaneous adjustment on the users part of a part of the container.

lt has been heretofore proposed and commercially adopted to provide ashipping case or conloiftainer within which was included one or moreadditional parts, which could be arranged to prof-l vide a display shelfor support when desired, but this arrangementrequired the provision ofadditional parts, forming no part of the shipping case, for displayfunction, and necessitated time and labor, and often considerabledifculty on the part of the dealer in arranging such additional partswhen display was desired.

The primary object of the present invention is y the provision of ashipping container and display container wherein the parts necessary toprovide an effective shipping case are provided, and wherein, withouttheprovision of any additional or extra parts, one part of such shippingcase may '4be converted to a display rack or holder by a simple,rconvenient and rapid movement of such shipping case part. y y

' A further object of the invention is the provision of a combinedshipping and display container,

Y made up-of a box-like body and a cover therefor,

whereinfthegoods are arranged in the body and protected by the cover,with the body formed inherently for folding into two connected uprightadjacent sections after removal of the cover,

with the side walls of the body becoming the bottoms of the sections tosupport the contained articles in display relation.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a'shipping-display container, in which the goods, when packed the body forshipment, need not be disturbed vor even touched in forming the bodyinto a display rack or holder, the goods when in their shippingpositions in the container, Aautomatically assuming their ldisplaypositions when the box body is moved to form the display rack. j

A further object of the invention is the provision of a shipping-displaycontainer wherein no additional parts, other than as needed for shippingpurposes, are necessary in converting the container into a display rackor holder, whereby the time and labor heretofore required for theconversion is not only entirely avoided, but the N expense of making andthe not infrequent dif- (Cl. 20G-44) culty of assembling the additionalparts heretofore required, is entirely done away with.

The invention in a preferred form is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of the container as completed fortransportation and storage, the top or upper portion being partly brokenaway.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the lower portion 'of the container followingthe removal of the cover.

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the lower ,portion of thecontainer folded to provide a display rack.

Figure 4 is a transverse section through the bottom portion of thecontainer folded as a display rack, the cans being shown in dottedoutline.

Figure 5 is a blank from which the bottom portion of the container isformed.

The improved shipping-display container is here shown for conveniencefor the shipping and display of pressure-delivery oil cans, and whilethe following description will be directed to such specific use, it willbe understood that the container is designed for any and all appropriatearticles, with the size and shape of the container' modied, ifnecessary, to accommodate .such articles.

The improved container includes a box-like body l, having a bottom 2,side walls 3, and end walls 4. The body I is in the instance shown ofgreater length than width, of rectangular shape in plan, and formed toaccommodate six oil cans, indicated at 5, with the cans packed three oneach side with the bottoms of each three cans resting against the sidewalls. The width of the body is such as to just accommodate the overalllength of the oil can and spout, and the cans on one side are offsetfrom the cans on the opposite side, withthe spouts of the cans on oneside arranged betweenthe bodies of the cans on the opposite side. Asthus arranged, the bodies of the cans do not extend from the side wallof the body against which they rest to the longitudinal median line ofthe container.

The end walls Il of the body are divided vertically at their centralpoints, as at 6, and the walls are preferably cut away throughout theupper part of this division, as at l. 'I'he bottom 2 of the body isscored for folding at 8, in line with the divisions 6 of the end walls,and this line of fold may, if desired, be appropriately reinforced toprevent breakage in use. 'Ihe end walls may be reinforced at 9, and inthe use illustrated it is preferred that the side walls be provided witha narrow inwardly extending ledge l0 to partly over-lie the bodies ofthe oil cans. By suitably extending the lengths and heights of the partsof the box blank used in making the body, the end reinforcing sections 9and the ledges Il! may be formed integral with the body, the ledgeforming portions being extended beyond the length required for the bodyand the excess lengths turned down and secured to the reinforcingsections 9.

The other part of the shipping-display container is a cover ll, of asize and shape to fit over the cpen end of the box bodyv and snuglyembrace the side and end Walls 3 and Il. As the cover bears more or lesssnugly against the side and end walls, it entirely prevents thepossibility of the box body folding on the line 8, and hence with thecover in place the container is a complete rigid and protective receiverfor the goods, permitting any usual handling or shipping withoutdisturbing the contents in any Way.

When it is desired to convert the container into a display rack orholder, the cover is entirely removed, the box body is folded on theline 8, moving the side Walls from each other, and the folding continueduntil the sections of the bottom 2 are in contact, the side Walls inth-e same plane as a bottom support. The oil cans automatically followthis movement, without being moved or even touched until in the nalposition, such cans are in upright positions, their bottoms resting onthe former side-Walls of the box body, and the cans arranged on eachsideV of the ccntacting bottom sections. The oil cans are thus incomplete display positions, as shown in Figure 3, and the result issecured by merely folding the box body along a defined line,v andwithout the necessity of any other action or manipulation.

In the display positions, the ledges Il) prevent Y outward movements ofthe individual cans, while at the same time permitting the removal ofany can by merely liftingfit over the ledge. If preferred, particularlyin shipping oil cans, a removable partition may be provided, as at l2,with openings i3 to be passed over the spouts of all cans, the partitionbeing in line with the line of hold and merely serving to prevent unduemovement of the cans during shipment. The partition is looselypositioned and is to be removed before arranging the 'box body as adisplay rack.

The improved shipping-display container is of particular importance fromthe standpoint of economy in manufacture and facility in use. Itmaterially reduces the area required for display over that required inprevious containers; it requires less material to make and less timetoasl semble; eliminates the necessity of individually packing thearticles; eliminates the additional material required in forming theusual display steps; it reduces overall weight as compared with similarprevious containers; it requires less time Vto pack; it presents nocomplication in converting i for display purposes; and maintains thedisplay sections clean and fresh until conversion.

Of course, the container as a whole will be adapted in form and packingspace to the particular articles to be accommodated, and While thematerial preferred is ordinary commercial cardboard, any' appropriatematerial may be employed. Again, the parts of the display sections thatare visible on display may be ornamented, printed or otherwise treatedto any extent desired.

It will of course be appreciated and understood that the display elementabove described is, in its simplicity of construction and ease ofhandling, an important feature wholly independent of the cover, and suchdisplay element is to be considered an independent feature of thepresent invention capable of use by itself as a more or less permanentdisplay rack or holder and to be capable and useful for display Withoutthe necessity of utilizing its shipping function in connection with thecover.

It is to be particularly noted that when the sections of the bottom. 2of the blank are folded upwardly to form the central partition of thedisplay container, such sections are in contact and at right angles tothe side walls which form a broad bearing for the container resting flatupon the surface supporting the container and maintained rigidly atright angles to the upfolded sections of the bottom. This not onlysupports the container against casual displacement on any surface butpermits the utilization of the upfolded sections of the bottom as aconvenient hand-grip by which the container may be moved from place toVplace when necessary. When the container is grasped to move it fromplace to place, it will be apparent that the fingers of the tion againstseparation or against a tendency to dislodge any of the articles withinthe container.

When utilized as an independent and moreV or K less permanent displayrack, the element may bev constructed of more permanent material thancardboard or the like, for example of wood or metal, and the fold lineconstructed as a hinged joint. Under these circumstances, the element, A

when folded to Vprovide the display rack, may become a more or lesspermanent adjunct to the dealers counter, shelves or the like,V and thearticles to be displayed placed by'hand the re-k spective displaysections. l

What is claimed to be new is: Y A display container, comprising Yincombination two compartments open at their tops and Y front to displaymerchandise, the two'ncompartments having extended back portions hingedtoi geth'er at the top, Wherebythe two compartments can be unfoldedrtolay in' a flat storage condition o-r folded in an upright displaycondition, said compartments adapted to receive articles protrudingabove the top of the container' when the latter is in display conditionand interlaced across the two compartments when the container is inunfolded condition, a central dividing strip having means to straddlethe interlaced arti-

